Here are a few tips on how to plan for Trinidad Carnival…

Trinidad Carnival is serious business, and if you wait too long, you may miss the boat (accommodation booked out, costumes and bands sold out, fete tickets sold out etc.) If you plan on going to carnival next year, here are some guidelines to help you through the planning process:

Pre-carnival planning:

Accommodation
I usually stay with family in Trinidad, so this is not an issue for me. However, if you do not have any family or friends in Trinidad, here are a few suggestions:

Guesthouses – I recommend guesthouses during carnival time, especially if you are on a budget. Why? Because prices are inflated during the carnival season, and the hotel prices are astronomical.

A few examples of guesthouses:
• Par May La’s Inn
• Sundeck Suites
• Culture Crossroads Bed and Breakfast

You can view more guesthouse options and book your guesthouse here.

Hotels – If you want to stay in a hotel, keep in mind that they are rather pricey around carnival season.

Here are a few suggestions:
• Kapok Hotel
• The Hilton
• The Marriott
• The Hyatt

You can view more hotel options and book your hotel here.

I recommend securing your accommodation first before booking your flight and costume. Most places have a refund policy (within a certain time) if things don’t work out. Keep in mind that folks usually book their accommodation for the following year right after carnival. Most guesthouses and hotels are usually fully booked from the year before. If you plan on going to carnival next year, you should probably look into sorting out your accommodation from now.

Costume
This is the tricky part. If you want to play mas (play in costume with a band), you have to be very diligent with the deadlines. Band registration is usually around July/August the year before. That said, depending on the band, diligence may not be enough. Certain bands, such as TRIBE are very hard to get in. Once upon a time, you could register online. This convenience no longer exists. The best way to get into TRIBE is through a contact. I got into TRIBE 2016 through a link from a friend, who has a friend … you get the gist.

However, TRIBE is not the only carnival band in Trinidad. There are quite a few to choose from.

Here are links to popular carnival bands in Trinidad:

TRIBE  |  BLISS  |  FANTASY  |  YUMA

• Don’t forget j’ouvert!

POST CARNIVAL UPDATE: This was my 3rd time playing with TRIBE and I had a fabulous time. However, I think TRIBE has become too big and overcrowded. That said, I’m ready to try something new. Next time I will play mas with another band – either BLISS or Fantasy.

Fete Tickets
Like the costume registration, certain fete tickets are hard to get. Tickets for popular fetes like Beach House, Bay View, Suits, Soca Brainwash, and Vale require contacts. Otherwise, they sell out quickly. You definitely want to line up your fetes and organize tickets beforehand, usually a few months before you head to Trinidad. On the other hand, there are so many fetes and events happening in Trinidad during Carnival, if you don’t get tickets for one, there are many more to choose from. Just do your research first when choosing your fetes. You can purchase fete tickets online at Ticket Federation or Island E-Tickets.

Getting Around
If you do not have a car, you should probably get in touch with a reliable taxi service. I used Arnold’s Tours and Transport Services. Ask for Arnold or Michael. Keep in mind that Trinidad gets extremely congested during carnival so traffic is really bad. So plan ahead with your driver to accommodate for any traffic issues.

If you prefer, you can rent a car, but I personally wouldn’t want to be the designated driver during carnival. I mean, it’s carnival, drinks will be flowing like water. So I’d rather be safe than sorry and hire a taxi from the start. Don’t drink and drive!

Getting There – Plane Tickets
Plane tickets to Port of Spain, Trinidad are pricey around carnival time. The key is to plan ahead and book early. I booked our tickets in June 2015 for carnival in 2016, before I even had a carnival costume.

Airfare to Trinidad from Florida is much cheaper in comparison to flying out of Atlanta. So we booked our tickets with Caribbean Airlines, flying from Florida to Port of Spain, Trinidad (Caribbean Airlines flies out of both Fort Lauderdale and Miami to Port of Spain). Fortunately, my husband and I had enough Southwest Rapid Rewards points to fly from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. This allowed us to save a lot on our plane tickets (about half the price). JetBlue is another great option as it flies directly to Port of Spain from various cities in the U.S.

Getting up to speed with the Music

Soca tunes are released months before carnival and are played during the fetes leading up to and during the road march on Carnival Monday and Tuesday. You can get familiar with soca hits by checking out the tunes on Soca Silky’s site.

A few more things

As with anywhere you travel, it is always important to take measures to ensure your safety. Always be careful and aware of your surroundings. Do not walk anywhere alone.  It’s always best to travel to carnival with a group.

That said, Trinidad Carnival is an experience you should have at least once in your lifetime. It’s always the best experience when shared with a group of friends. This aspect of Trini culture is one of my favorites!

Stay tuned for my post on my 2016 Trinidad Carnival trip.